
-6isr 




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♦ 



BY H. D. GROVE. 




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BOSTON : 

PRINTED AT THE NEW EKGLAND FARMER OFFICE— BY W. NICHOLS. 



1824. 



ESSAY ON SHEEP. 



Of Crossed Breeds. 

The general rule is that the Iamb possesses an equal share of 
all the properties of each parent. The idea is very erroneous 
that the size and form are more affected by the one, and the in- 
trinsic qualities of the animal by the other — for although, in 
the first generations, the resemblance to the parent Ram may 
be most apparent, it is nevertheless certain that in subsequent 
years the distinctive qualities of the Ewe will again appear in the 
offspring. A pure race has been carefully preserved in Saxony- 
which has had great influence in improving the native wool by 
constant crossing with full blood rams. But it is certain that real 
and durable excellence can only be attained by preserving the 
pure blood ; and the best proof of this fact is found in Spain itself, 
where the Leonese flocks still continue to produce 25 per cent 
finer wool than those of Sozia; although the latter are suplied 
every year with more or less Leonese bucks and the method of 
treatment is precisely similar in each. 

The improvement produced by crossing, naturally progres- 
ses most rapidly where the native ewes are of the best quality, 
although coarse wooled sheep may also be gradually improved 
upon in the same way ; but in all such cases the size and form 
will be as much affected as the fineness of the wool, and all 
the attempts made to preserve the original size, while the wool 
was made fine, have eventually failed. 

In the selection therefore, of a breed, or of a single ram for 
the 'purpose of a cross, regard should be had solely to the 
fineness and colour of the wool — to the firmness of its adhesioa 
to the skin, and to the general health of the animal — and not at 
all to the large size ; which property will be sure to disappear 
in the sequel if the wool does not degenerate. 

Of the introduction of a pure breed. 
The raising of an unmixed breed of sheep superior to the 
original flock is certainly much more expensive and difficult 
than improvement by crossing with rams of higher grades bought 
singly. It requires a considerable capital as well as very great 
care and attention. 



It is seldom that young ewes are to be had at any tolerable 
price, and many persons who undertake this business are oblig- 
ed to content themselves with such as cannot yield more than 
two, or at most three lambs. 

A very important circumstance in a purchase of this kind is 
to inform one's self about the previous mode of feeding to 
whit^.h the sheep have been accustomed, and if any change is 
necessary, to introduce it gradually. Better feed will have a ten- 
dency to improve a flock, but it is dangerous to make even this 
change too suddenly. — Those who are able and willing to 
furnish capital for this purpose and devote the necessary atten- 
tion to the business will nevertheless find themselves very 
soon repaid for their trouble and expense ; since, in addition to 
the extra price of his wool, the owner of such a flock, will very 
soon be able to dispose of full blood rams, and as his flock in- 
creases, of ewes also ; the price of which, if the best are con- 
stantly retained, cannot fail gradually to advance. 

To make this business productive it is necessary to pay 
paiiictilar attention to the food of the ewes and lambs, and 
to have the latter dropped early in the season that they may 
attain Iheir full strength at the proper period to produce their 
own young. Rams of inferior grades must of course be careful- 
ly escladcd from the flock, and the ewes must be treated with 
extraordiuary care to ensure long life and prevent premature 
barrenness. It is still doubtful whether there is an intrinsic 
diff"erence in this respect between Merino and other sheep, or 
whether it is merely owing to the extraordinary attention they 
have received ; but the fact is unquestionable that they usu- 
ally rear healthy lambs at the age of twelve and sometimes 
even of fifteen years. 

Even if the wool at that age should become a little less fine, 
the animal must not on this account be discarded, because if 
the blood remains unmixed this evil will cure itself. If these 
rules are carefully o bserved, the increase of a flock of fine 
blood may be made very considerable as will appear by the fol- 
lowing estimate. 

Commencing with 12 yearling ewes I estimate that each 
will bear one lamb the first subsequent season and as many the 
second, and that half of these are ewe lambs. The third year 
9 ewe lambs may be expected, the fourth 12, the fifth 18, and 
the 6th 22. Supposing that the oldest ewes have now become 
barren, the same progression will give, at the end of sixteen 
years from the purchase, a flock of 867 ewes of pure blood, and 
the low estimate of 6 lambs in all from each ewe is so much 
within'bounds as fully to offset the chances of loss from disease 
or accident, if good care is taken in managing the flock. 

The first purchase of ewes of pure blood will obviate the ne- 
cessity of subsequent purchases of rams from time to time, which 
is absolutely necessary in a mixed flock to prevent the wool 



from degenerating ; and a further profit results from the sale 
of the rams which may commence with the fourth or fifth year. 

On the selection of sheep for breeding. 
The most important point is to be certain of the pedigree of 
the animal to be bought, and a sheep known to be of pure 
blood should alvvajs be preferred before another of finer fleece 
and better form, whose ancestry is uncertain. Next in impor- 
tance are the fineness and elasticity of the wool, the evenness of 
the fleece over the whole body, the absence of hairs — the 
strong, compact form — and full health. The best sheep are dis- 
tinguished by full and bright eyes, bright red veins about the 
lachrymal glands, a broad forehead, short but stiff ears, a 
short, thick neck, broad chest, round shoulders, and generally a 
stout, thick set form, with short legs. 

The size of the body is of less consequence than any of these 
particulars, having much less influence on the'progeny than many 
people suppose. The thickness of the fleece is mainly affected 
by the quality and quantity of nourishment, and will not con- 
tinue through many successive generations without care in this 
point. There are many other supposed marks of a good ram, 
such as a large tuft of wool on the forehead, a large hanging 
dewlap, much wool on the hinder legs, three rows of wool round 
the neck, &c. &c. — but all these or any other similar marks 1 
consider as of no sort of consequence, and believe they may all 
be found on very inferior sheep. 

It sometimes happens that wool growers are more desirous 
of heavy fleeces than of superior fineness of the wool, and 
therefore select in preference the largest, heaviest animals 
rather than those of the finest fleece ; but in this case they fail 
of procuring the genuine merino blood which never reaches to 
a large stature under any circumstanoes. 

During pregnancy the ewes should be better fed than usual, 
and this feed should be continued till tfcey are furnished with 
ample pasture. It is of great importance that the lambs should 
acquire strength enough very soon after birth to support the 
bad weather which may follow in the spring — and be able to 
benefit by the early pasturage, by which means they may be 
sooner weaned, and the fleece of the ewes increased by stop- 
ping the flow of milk. 

The rams in every flock must of Course be kept separate from 
the ewes and yearlings — the most convenient arrangement is to 
pasture them with the wethers. One buck is sufficient for about 
forty ewes. In Spain the proportion is 3 to 100. During the 
season of impregnation they are fed, morning and evening, with 
oats. 

In the season for dropping lambs the utmost care is necessa- 
ry, and if the shepherd is not to be entirely depended on, the 
proprietor should have him constantly overlooked. The birth is 
* 



commonly easy but often slow. Ignorant shepherds are very apt 
on such occasions to be aiding in the birth, which is always use- 
less and often very injurious. 

It often happens that ewes will not own their lambs, particu- 
larly the first they bear, and in this case I would advise to 
sprinkling a little salt on the lamb which induces the ewe to lick 
it, after which it will generally allow it to suck. If not, the ewe 
with her lamb should be placed in a separate enclosure (of which 
several should be previously prepared) and fed with the most nu- 
tritious fodder, particularly with succulent liquids, that her ud- 
der may be wncomfortably distended ; and if this is not suffi- 
cient she must be tied by the legs till the lamb has been once 
suckled ; after which there will be no further difficulty. The 
mother's milk is by far the best nourishment for the lambs, and 
should never be taken from them for other purposes, as is often 
practised by shepherds. About three or four weeks after birth 
the lambs should be fed with bruised oats, or oil cakes soften- 
ed in water, tender hay and well dried red clover, or other 
similar fodder. In order that the lambs alone may eat their 
proper fodder an enclosure is made, through the apertures of 
which they can pass, while the full grown sheep are excluded. 

This previous feeding enables them better to support being 
weaned at the proper time. — The weaning should take place 
very gradually for the benefit of the ewe as well as of the 
lamb, and after weaning, the lambs should be kept at a con- 
siderable distance from the ewes. 

The ram lambs are cut at three or four weeks old, the tails of 
the ewe lambs are cut off to within about three inches or 
something less of the body at the same age. 

The fodder or pasture of sheep has been found, after the 
most careful experiments, to have no effect on the fineness, and 
very little on the elasticity of the wool ; but a very important 
one on the thickness and length and consequently on the weight 
of the fleece. Its effect on the health and increase of a flock 
is of course all important. 

The most important circumstance in regard to the strength of 
the sheep is that the supply of food should be equal in quantity 
at all times, except a little increase during the time of suckling. 
Even the wool often becomes weak and loose in consequence 
of sudden changes from plentiful to scanty feed and vice versa. 
It is therefore essential that the fodder in winter and the pastur- 
age in summer should be provided in such manner as to subject 
the sheep to no changes of this kind. 

A sudden increase of food is very injurious, although sheep 
may be gradually accustomed to a very plentiful supply, and gen- 
erally fully repay the additional expense in the increased 
quantity of their wool. The proportion of time during which 
sheep may be pastured differs of course in different climates. 
In Saxony, sheep are kept about five months on winter feed, but 



good farmers lay in a stock for 170 days to guard against 
scarcity in case of a backward spring. The excess is never 
lost, though late fall feed or early pasture in the spring should 
allow it to be laid up for another year. 

Pasturage. 

Sheep are seldom admitted to pasture in summer on the mea- 
dows, except here and there on the driest and leanest spots, but 
it often happens that they are driven on in the spring, if the 
grass starts early enough for them to feed some time and be 
driven ofif again four weeks before the cattle are driven on. — 
The sheep receive no injury in this way, provided there are no 
pools of standing water in the meadow, and they do not remain on 
it too long. Generally, however, the only pasture they have, 
is on the drier and leaner soils ; particularly on steep hills, not 
easily arable nor producing sufficient pasturage for cattle. — 
This kind of pasture is the best suited to sheep, and such land 
can in no way be so well improved. It often happens however, 
that such high lands are not without swampy and springy places 
or pools of water either on the sides or in ravines between the 
hills ; and all such spots are very dangerous for the sheep. — 
All places where water plants are nourished should be care- 
fully avoided, and more than ever during the greatest heat of 
summer when they are dry from evaporation. They are then 
more dangerous than ever because deadly vapours are con- 
stantly rising through the dry crust that covers them, and of- 
tener than any other circumstance ct-eate the rot which it is 
so difficult to conquer when once its ravages have begun. It is 
by no means during the growing season that this danger is most 
to be feared, for at that period the sheep find sufficient nourish- 
ment in dry situations and avoid wet spots of their own accord. 
Merino sheep are doubtless more subject to the rot than the coars- 
er breeds, and therefore require particular care in this respect. 
All such marshy spots should therefore be carefully drained in 
places where these sheep are to be pastured. Wooded pastur- 
age affords sometimes very good feed — but if the shade is very 
close, the grass, though sometimes very plentiful, is not so nutri- 
tious as elsewhere and the wool of sheep receives some injury 
from the deep shade. The young grass on fields in fallow as 
well as the fall feed after harvest are excellent for sheep, par- 
ticularly the former. 

The best pasture must be reserved for the lambs, the next 
for rams and ewes, and the poorest left for the wethers. 

The winter feed consists usually of hay and straw only. — 
The best hay is well dried, early fresh meadow bay, which 
should be mowed as young as possible, and not cut on marshy 
places. Clover, lucerne, &c. if well got in, are preferable to 
other grasses. 

Straw intended for sheep must also be got in dry and sweet. — 



8 

it is nourishing only in so far as it is mixed with weeds, un- 
ripe ears, and heads not thoroughly thrashed. The best straw 
is therefore to be found on the worst managed farms. Perfect- 
ly clean straw affords almost no nourishment, except a little in 
the joints; — but it aids in digestion and helps at least to fill the 
stomach. 

The stalks of peas and beans are more succulent, but there 
is a great difference between such as are mowed before they 
are fully ripe and those that are dry before mowing, la the 
former case they make very good fodder — though hay is 
preferable. The usual calculation is two or three pounds per 
day of dry fodder for a full grown sheep, but many farmers 
give less than a pound of hay, and make up the deficiency in 
straw and pea vines. A flock may be kept alive on this fod- 
der, but without mixing some grain, or at least half-thrashed 
straw with it, it is impossible that a flock should go on improving 
in quality, notwithstanding the greatest care in other respects. 
The most economical method, considering the increased weight 
of wool which may be produced by it, is to give the sheep as 
much dry fodder as they will readily eat. If hay alone is used, 
at least two hundred weight is necessary for each sheep; if a 
i'ew peas and summer straw are added the supply will be ample 
for the winter. 

Potatoes, turnips, carrots and many other roots furnish 
excellent fodder for sheep ; of which it is unnecessary to 
speak at large, the circumstances of each farm being the best 
guide as 'to their use. 

Salt is required by sheep at intervals during the whole year, 
but it is often given in too great quantity and almost forced upon 
the sheep ; which is always injurious, and often injures the di- 
gestion so that the best grain will pass through them unaltered. — 
The best mode, where rock salt is to be had, is to attach 
pieces here and there in the stable or the pasture and let them 
lick it as they wish. The usual calculation is from one to two 
pounds yearly per head, but I have found that something less 
than one pound was quite sufficient and more than this is not 
given in Saxony to the best managed flocks. 

Jt is very important that sheep should he furnished with clear 
water to prevent their drinking from stagnant, muddy pools, 
which almost always occasions disease. If there is no running 
stream in their pasture they should be watered as often as twice 
a day from a well. 

The principal requisites for the stall or shelter for sheep are 
dryness, airiness, and sufficient room. They are very little 
liable to injury from cold. Lambs, however, should be pro- 
tected from extreme cold for a few weeks after birth. 

Dry fodder should always be put in cribs, and not thrown on 
the ground or barn floor. 

The best scethod of washing wool previous to shearing, is to 



wet the fleece thoroughly on he previous evening by immers- 
ing the animal repeatedly in a stream of water, in order that 
me dirt adhering to the wool m ay be softened and more easily 
removable on the following day, when the principal washing is to 
')e done. Care must be taken that the sheep do not swallow 
my water during the process. Three or four days after the 
ivashing, when the wool has been thoroughly dried, and after the 
patural moisture has begun to reappear, the shearing may be 
:ommenced. 

On the disorders of Sheep. 
Almost all the disorders which attack sheep are caused by the 
fant, and seldom or never by the excess of activity in the vital 
organs. The nerves are very susceptible, but seldom act with 
;a^reat force — and whenever they are powerfully excited, this 
.excitement soon passes off and leave? the animal extremely weak. 
^t follows from this that most of the means required for the cure 
of diseases among sheep should be calculated rather to excite than 
to allay the activity of the functions of life — a few of the most 
common diseases among sheep deserve to be particularly noticed. 

The Rot 
Exhibtls itself scarcely at all externally. The blood loses its 
high colour and tendency to coagulate and becomes watery. 
The first perceptible symptom therefore is the loss of the bright 
red appearance about the eyes: the lips and inside of the mouth 
also become pale, as well as the skin genera lly under the wool. 
The animal continues to feed well and does not grow poor, al- 
though the natural vivacity is diminished and some signs of weak- 
ness occur. 

The disease commonly gains strength in the winter. Watery 
swoUings are formed, particularly under the chin, which are of- 
ten absorbed and then reappear. Soon after these the animal 
generally dies without showing any symptoms of violent pain. 
Ewes attacked by this disease die most commonly about the time 
of dropping their lambs. The body on opening exhibits copi- 
ous collections of water obout the chest and entrails, the blood is 
CKtremely pale as well as the flesh. This disorder is unques- 
tionably caused by feeding in swampy grounds, and a few hours 
are sufficient to fix it upon a sheep. It is increased by damp, 
foggy weather, while on the other hand, dry warm weather and 
hig[i pasture, especially where there are many aromatic herbs, 
are sometimes suflBcient to counteract the first symptoms and ef- 
fect a cure. This disorder, however, when it has reached such a 
point 4hat a common observer may notice the symptoms, is pro- 
bably incurable. At a very early stage a cure is possible if the 
flock is kept carefully on high land where aromatic herbs are 
abundant and particularly among juniper bushes, and in bad wea- 
ther carefully housed and well fed. Horse chesnuts are an ex- 
cellent article for fodder in this case also a mixture of juniper 



10 

berries, wormwood, sage, gentian, angelica roots, willow bark 
and other bitter herbs with a little salt and grain which they will 
eat of their own accord, or if not, it should be administered it 
small quantities in the morning before they are driven to pasture 
If the rot makes its appearance in a decided manner before the 
winter sets in, it is useless to attempt any thing more than to fat- 
ten the animal as soon as may be and sell him to the butcher 
The rot certainly is not infectious, and it very often occurs tha; 
only a few sheep are attacked in large flocks ; and generally it 
such cases, if the shepherd is honest, the disease may be traced 
in every case to some swamp or other wet place where these 
particular sheep may have strayed. 

The Mouth and Hoof Distemper. 
These complaints seem to have a mutual connection since th« 
former, which is the mildest, very often precedes the latter. In 
the mouth the principal evil to be feared is that the sheep be- 
come emaciated from the inability to eat. The best remedy is 
to bathe the part affected with a strong decoction of sage, mixed 
with an equal quantity of vinegar and a little honey. If the blis- 
ters continue to spread, half an ounce of blue vitriol should be 
added to a quart of this mixture. The disorder in the hoofs is 
soon discovered by lameness and if this is evidently not produced 
by any external injury, and especially if several sheep in a flock 
are attacked at the same time, great care should be taken to ob- 
viate the effects of this disorder. The best remedy is a poultice 
of dough or fat loamy clay which should be applied to the foot by 
means of a little bag, but not tied hard to the ancle, and kept 
constantly wet with vinegar, till a swelling appears on the up- 
per side of the foot or in the cleft of the hoof. This should then 
be opened with a sharp knife and the dead hoof pared o?i. The 
wound must be washed with cold water and sprinkled with dry vi- 
triol. The lame animals should remain carefully separated from 
the sound ones, and the washing and sprinkling with vitriol re- 
peated till the cure is effected. This disease is not only conta- 
gious but also infectious in the highest degree and oftentimes so 
violent as to produce caries in the bone after the hoof is de- 
stroyed. 

The Itch or Scab. 

This disorder is dreaded more than any other, and did in fact 
more damage in many districts than any other, until the proper 
mode of treatment was discovered. The scab is certainly conta- 
geous and may readily be propagated by merely touching the 
skin of a healthy animal with matter from a pustule on another 
sheep — but as far as my observation has extended the infection 
is not conveyed through the atmosphere, though it often seems to 
be epidemic, and particularly in very damp summers which afiect 
sheep in many other ways so unfavourably. 

It is discovered by the animal's constantly rubbing or scratclv 



11 

iog itself and making at the same time a peculiar motion with the 
lips the scabs are sometimes dry and sometimes moist, and spread 
very rapidly, though the animal continues healthy in other re- 
spects, and generally more lively than before. Afterwards how- 
ever the disorder becomes internal, the sheep becomes emaciat- 
ed and dies from weakness and pain. If the scab is observed at 
an early period it may be easily cured or at least prevented from 
spreading. One of the best remedies is a strong decoction of to- 
bacco to be applied to the diseased parts, after scratching off the 
scabs with a comb or other instrument. The decoction of to-^ 
bacco mixed with lime water and oil of vitriol, and used con- 
stantly for some time, will generally effect a radical cure; anoth- 
er excellent remedy is a decoction of hellebore mixed with vin- 
egar, sulphur, and spirits of turpentine. Internal remedies are 
of no use except when the disorder has induced other complaints 
by weakening the general health. 

The Sheep- Pox. 

This disorder is contagious and propagates itself by exhalation 
from the sick to the healthy animal, but it has not yet been dis- 
covered how far these exhalations may extend. If, however, it 
appears in a neighboring flock, care should be taken to mitigate 
its effects by a general and careful inoculation, since it is certain 
that the disorder is less violent if taken by inoculation than in 
the natural way. The operation is perfectly simple and easy. 
The animal is laid on its back and held by two or three men 
while the operator introduces the matter, from a pustule five or six 
days old, in two or three places between the legs or on the taiL 
The lancet should be introduced in a slanting direction under the 
skin about an eighth of an inch, and when it is withdrawn, 
the skin should be pressed down upon it so as to wipe off the 
matter and leave it in the wound. A pustule is formed general- 
ly in four days, and reaches its greatest size on the sixth, when 
a (evf others generally appear near the first. 

Soon after this the usual symptoms of fever and general erup- 
tion take place, which last is, however, more regular and safe 
than if the animal had taken the disease without inoculation. 

The only care necessary during the progress of the disorder is 
to keep the sheep in a cool and airy situation. Internal reme- 
dies are not required, but the sores should be often washed with 
a strong infusion of camomile flowers in which a little blue vitri- 
ol has been previously dissolved, and afterwards dressed with a 
salve made of yolks of eggs and turpentine, mixed with a little 
powdered charcoal. 

The Reeling Sickness 

Is never infectious, but generally incurable. Its first symptoms 
are a weakness in the gait and a disposition in the animal affect- 
ed to remain separate from the flock. The head is thrown into 
an unnatural posture, generally on one side. The animal then 
begins to turn round, always in one direction, — stumbles and falls 



12 

repeatedly, sometimes with the head under the body, then ceases 
to feed and soon dies. 

Lambs and yearlings only are usually liable to this disorder, 
and very rarely sheep over two years old. The seat of the 
disorder is always to be discovered on the brain where one or more 
blisters are formed and filled with a watery secretion. 

The origin of this complaint, and of course the proper preven- 
tive treatment, remam as yet undiscovered. A cure is sometimes 
effected by an operation through the skull to let off the water. 

The first step in this case is to examine the skull carefully, in 
search of a soft spot in the bone which usually indicates the spot 
affected. The skull is then perforated with a trocar, accompani- 
ed by a tube through which the water may escape ; after which 
the tube also is withdrawn and a few drops of the essence of 
myrrh applied to the aperture. This operation is sometimes 
successful, but more often the reverse. If it succeeds, however, 
in only one cure out of five, it seems worth the trial since with- 
out some relief the sheep must certainly perish. 
Swelled Paunch. 

When sheep or other ruminating animals eat more than they 
can digest the food ferments in the stomach, emitting great quan- 
tities of gas which stretch this organ so as to draw together its 
apertures, the paunch becomes excessively distended, the lungs 
oppressed, the breath and pulse obstructed, and the death is very 
sudden. 

This effect may be produced by fodder of any kind, but most 
readily by such as the sheep prefer, especially if they are not ac- 
customed to it. Green clover and lucerne have, therefore, often 
been observed to bring on this disorder — but it is nevertheless cer- 
tain that neither of these substances are in themselves injurious, 
since I have known sheep accustomed to them eat their fill 
day after day for months together without suffering any ill con- 
sequence. Any young green feed is more likely to be hurtful in 
this way than dry fodder — but only when eaten in excess after 
]ong abstinence. If the approach of the swelling is observed by 
the shepherd in season, it may be prevented by violent friction 
of the back and belly and driving the sheep rapidly. These 
remedies are assisted by a previous dose of lime water, which 
should be repeated half an hour afterwards, taking care that the 
lime is good and not previously air-slacked. 

If the attack is so violent as to leave no time for these remedies, 
an opening must be made in the paunch with the trocar and sheath 
— an operation which cannot easily be described, but may be ex- 
hibited without any difficulty to any person unacquainted with it. 
I omit to notice a great variety of other diseases of sheep which 
I have had no opportunity of attending to personally, — and also 
the whole series of external injuries to which sheep are liable, — 
and in the treatment of which each man's experience is his best 
guide. 

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